Cassian's Dream
by stlouish682
Summary: What if the events on Scarif were just a dream?
1. Chapter 1

Cassian woke up, a cold sweat covered his entire body. He was on his ship, traveling toward Yavin 4, with his prisoner, Jyn Erso, Chirrut, Baze and his droid, K2S0. He sat up, taking a deep breath. It had all been a dream. The fall of Scarif, his demise, had just been a dream. A dream not easily shaken, but a dream nonetheless. The holo-clock that sat on his nightstand told him that it was 2:30am, standard time. Quietly, he got out of bed and walked down the corridor of his ship toward the cockpit. He was surprised to see Jyn sitting in the co-pilot seat, next to K2S0. Chirrut and Baze, were no doubt, sleeping. Cassian silently walked toward the pilot's seat, just as he touched K2S0's metal shoulder, Jyn jumped and gasped.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. Have you slept?" He asked Jyn. Jyn shook her head.

"I tried. I couldn't." She started. Cassian nodded, understanding the problem all too well himself.

"I couldn't either. I had an odd dream. It woke me up." Cassian wondered if explaining his dream was a good idea. There were countless ways that sharing his dream could end awkwardly for him.

"We were on Scarif?" Jyn asked. Her voice seemed far away, as if she was trying to recall every small detail of a dream that wasn't even hers. Cassian nodded. "The planet was imploding. We were on the beach, watching it burn. We were going to die." Jyn continued recalling details of the dream. Cassian blinked a few times, unsure of what he was hearing. It was exactly what happened in his dream.

"How did you know?" Cassian asked. K2S0 had remained oddly silent up until that point.

"I would suggest that she can read minds. That's ludicrous, however. The probability of two people having the same dream is astronomically low, Cassian." K2S0 explained.

"I never have liked betting against the odds, but I'm sure we had the same dream, Cassian." Jyn said. K2S0 lifted himself out of the pilot's chair and Cassian immediately took his place, suddenly very tired and needing to sit.

"What could it mean?" Cassian mused.

"That I'm not going to Scarif." Jyn laughed.

"It is not recommended." K2 responded, robotically. "I'm going to power down for a while, Cassian." The droid added, leaving the cockpit.

After K2S0 left, Cassian and Jyn talked for a long time about their shared dream. It was a dream so vivid, Cassian could feel the heat from the burning planet on his skin when he first woke. It could have been real, he could have been on Scarif, and now, he was reliving his life. He had read about people saying that they see their whole life flash before their eyes when they are close to death. He couldn't remember this moment, though. The trip to Yavin 4 had been uneventful, as far as he could recall.

"Let's not go to Yavin 4." Jyn suggested, suddenly, after a few moments of silence. "I don't want to go." Cassian knew the tone of her voice so well. She was pleading. Not for her life, like he was used to hearing, but for a second chance. She was innocent, being forced to live out her father's punishment. Cassian bit his bottom lip, considering what she was asking him to do. She was asking him to abandon the rebellion. To let someone so important walk away would surely ruin his career. To force her to stay with him, and go to Yavin 4, could potentially kill her. Cassian was no stranger to having blood on his hands. He was a rebel. Her blood, he did not want on his conscience, though, she was innocent, dragged into unfortunate circumstances. She had lost her father, not once, but twice, and she was dealing with that. He knew what that was like. He had lost people, too. Loss was an emotion that Cassian was not very well equipped to handle.

"Where would I take you?" He finally asked.

"Anywhere but there. What do I tell them, anyway? That I have secret plans that my father passed onto me, moments before his death? I would be ridiculed, laughed at. Take me anywhere, but Yavin 4."

2


	2. Chapter 2

Cassian watched Jyn for a long time, refusing to reply to her suggestion. Not taking his prisoner to Yavin 4 would surely end his career. A prisoner was one thing, letting Jyn Erso, the long-lost daughter of Galen Erso, slip between his fingers was foolish. He felt foolish even considering it. But that's what he was doing, wasn't it? He was waiting for her to ask him again, so that he could act annoyed that she'd even ask, but he was toying with the idea of turning off the navigation system and letting the ship float around space for a while.

"You couldn't," Jyn concluded, shaking her head. "I couldn't ask you to do that, anyway." She added. Could she read his mind? He was beginning to wonder. Cassian sighed, kicking his feet up on the console in front of him. She couldn't ask him, but could he do it without being asked? Could he just throw his career out the window to keep a woman he hardly knew safe? It was at least something worth considering, at the moment.

"You never know, I could decide to let you go free." Cassian mused. He pictured what it would be like to let her go. Would he return to the rebels and tell them that Jyn Erso had escaped? Would he stay hidden as well? He would become a myth in the war. The Lost Rebel. There would be stories of his war efforts for years to come.

"You wouldn't do that. Your career is too important to you. I can sense that much about you. Chirrut may be the Jedi, but I have intuition." Jyn said. Chirrut was no Jedi, not according to the information Cassian had gathered about him; a monk maybe, but certainly no Jedi. Cassian chuckled softly at Jyn's assumption. It was hard to tell if she was wrong. The thoughts bouncing around in Cassian's head were interrupted by the metal clanging of K2S0 approaching.

"Hello K2." Cassian greeted the droid. The droid was the one thing that he was proud of. He had been completely reprogrammed to serve Cassian, and he had reprogrammed him, himself. "Did you rest well?" Cassian asked.

"You know that powering down has no actual effect on me, Cassian. The probability of you accidentally pushing a button with your feet is 1 in 1,000 in case you were curious." K2 responded. He loomed over Jyn's seat, a metal giant, making her feel small and insignificant. The droid, while mostly appearing to be friendly, unnerved her. She stood up, stretching, feigning sudden exhaustion.

"I'm going to try to get some sleep." She said, stretching one shoulder and then sliding past K2S0. "Good night." She added, smiling at the droid.

"Good night, Jyn." Cassian said after she had already left the cockpit. His voice gave him away. There was longing in the way he said goodnight. K2 caught on, and somehow the expressionless droid could express 1,000 words with one, non-look. "Stop it." Cassian groaned, as K2 took the vacant seat at the control panel.

"She is dangerous." K2S0 reminded Cassian. "A prisoner."

"A prisoner that I let keep her blaster. A prison who isn't really a prisoner. She's just the product of unfortunate circumstances." Cassian tried to justify, nothing. K2S0 shook his metal head in disapproval. He had never seen his companion's guard so off kilter. Since Jyn joined the crew, Cassian had his mind on things that were not pertinent. K2 found it very frustrating, and calculated the odds of Cassian's distraction getting them all killed. They were astronomically high.

"She's a distraction." K2S0 said. Cassian nodded. Yes, she was. He couldn't decide if Jyn was a good distraction, or a bad one, but she was definitely a distraction. She was the kind of distraction that made men question every life decision that they made up to meeting her. Some men might consider her a threat, powerful, strong headed and independent, Cassian did not see her as a threat, but a challenge.

"I'm going to bed." Cassian said, gruffly, letting his boots clunk heavily to the metal floor of the cockpit.

"Of course, leave the droid to pilot the ship alone." K2 quipped.

"Good night." Cassian laughed, leaving the droid alone. He walked down the corridor toward the private quarters. There were only three rooms, but Baze and Chirrut seemed to have no problem sharing a room. Jyn took a room to herself, right across the hall from Cassian's room. When he walked by, he noticed that she forgot to close her door completely. He caught a glimpse of her silhouette on the wall, pulling off her gear piece by piece, until she was wearing nothing but a tank top and shorts. Cassian couldn't help but stare. She was beautiful. The hard life of jumping from prison camp to prison camp had left her scarred, he knew that, but despite the scars, Cassian had never met a woman more beautiful than Jyn Erso.


	3. Chapter 3

Cassian went back to his quarters, and lay down on his bed. He had never been more uncomfortable in his life. He had slept on cots in military bases, on rocky ground in battlefields, but here, sleeping on a mattress that was worn to conform to his body, he felt like a stranger in his own bed. Tossing and turning, sleep finally overcame him just as the holo clock on his nightstand flipped to 6:00, standard time.

As he slept, another dream came to him. He was crouching on a ledge overlooking a loading dock on Eadu. The planet was caught in a perpetual rainstorm. Rain drizzled down the barrel of Cassian's blaster and soaked his hair. He made a mental note to clean the weapon well before putting it away, to avoid rust. He raised the blaster to his shoulder and looked through the scope. There were many men down below, wandering around in the rain, some, he was sure, had important business to attend to. He swept the gun over the platform, searching for one man, in particular.

He was sent to kill Galen Erso. That was his goal. That was what he was told to do, anyway. Find him, kill him. Bring them his daughter. Cassian still wasn't sure why the rebel alliance wanted Galen dead, but also wanted his daughter in custody, but he was just following orders. He found Galen in the crowd, a dark-haired man with a beard, wearing an imperial uniform. Through the sheer rain, Cassian put Galen in his sites.

In reality, Cassian did not pull the trigger. He could have, but instead lowered his weapon. In his dream, Cassian pulled the trigger and watched as a green streak left the barrel of his blaster. It soared down over the crowd and took Galen Erso in the side. It wasn't exactly where Cassian hoped to hit him, but he saw Erso fall to the ground, nonetheless. Just as Galen's lifeless body fell to the rain-washed tarmac, Cassian was pulled from his dream.

He sat up in his bed. Ensuring that it was just a dream, Cassian took a deep breath and swung his feet off the side of the bed. He didn't kill Galen, someone else had taken care of that for him, but in his dream, he had been the one to take Galen's life. Was there an underlying meaning? Cassian made a mental note to ask Chirrut what he thought of the dream.

By the time, he made his way to the cockpit, he saw his whole crew crammed into the tiny space. K2S0 was sitting in the pilot's chair, Jyn was standing behind him, Baze was sitting in the co-pilot's chair and Chirrut was leaning against his staff next to Jyn. When he entered the cockpit, they all turned to stare at him.

"What's going on?" Cassian asked. Jyn reached up and smacked Cassian on the back of the head. She looked angry. He recoiled. "What was that for?" Cassian whined, rubbing the spot.

"You dreamt that you killed my father!" Jyn barked at him. Cassian recoiled even further.

"In my defense, it was just a dream," Cassian tried to justify his actions.

"A dream that we once again shared!" Jyn glowered.

"Well then how do you know that you're not the one who had the dream?" Cassian asked. The question was logical; logical enough that Jyn stopped long enough to consider that option. It hadn't even occurred to her before, and honestly, why would it?

"Why would I dream about you killing my father?" She asked. Her voice grew quiet as she tried to make sense of the dream. Was it possible that it was her dream? Cassian didn't think so, but now Jyn was considering it. He thought that was strange.

"I don't know, but it is possible, isn't it?" Cassian asked. He was hoping that Chirrut would say something, but the blind monk remained silent. "It's not the first time that we've shared a dream," He reminded Jyn. "This one seems to be less of a warning, though," He recalled the dream about Scarif, still shaken by the idea of being on the planet while it imploded.

"The first dream was of something that hasn't happened yet. Something we can change, this is something that has already happened, that we can't go back and change. You didn't kill my father. You were going to, but you didn't." Jyn reminded him. It was the one thing about Cassian that made her like him, and trust him. When faced with the opportunity to be a murderer, he chose not to be. It was a choice that no man in her past had made. Anyone else would have chosen to kill. Not Cassian, though, Cassian chose to lower his weapon.

"What if I was supposed to kill him?" Cassian asked.

"Oh, if you had killed him, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now," Jyn threatened. "I would have killed you, myself. And I am glad that you didn't kill him, I just want to know why you, or I, would have dreamt that you did?"

"Your dreams, maybe they are fate intervening. They show you, first what will happen because you didn't do something, and then what you should have done." Chirrut finally spoke, his head moving slightly as he talked.

"We're destined to die on Scarif because I didn't kill Galen on Eadu?" Cassian asked. Chirrut shrugged. Even blind, the man was able to convey a thousand words with such simple gestures.


	4. Chapter 4

Cassian reached over and flipped a switch on the control panel in front of the small group. A cool, robotic voice chimed through an unseen speaker, "navigation system disabled." It spoke to everyone in the room. Cassian folded his arms across his chest, defiantly.

"Then I am not going to Yavin 4." He declared. Jyn looked at him, first in confusion, and then in elation. She did not have to go to Yavin! That was the most important thing to her, at the moment. She was sure that the shared dreams would pass, but the feeling that they should not go to Yavin 4 was overwhelming.

"We have vital information that Mon Mothma expects us to deliver to her," K2S0 reminded Cassian. Cassian glared at the droid, as if he was deeply offended by the reminded. "She is expecting you, Cassian." K2 continued, "She does not know about the others, however."

"I'm not going to Yavin 4," Cassian said again. "Here's an idea K2, why don't we land somewhere, I will get off the ship, our friends will get off the ship and then you can go to Yavin 4. Tell Mothma that I was unable to make the meeting and that you have no idea where I could be that would be more important than the meeting with her." Cassian suggested.

"I am just a droid. I am not capable of meeting with one of the most powerful leaders in the Rebellion." K2 argued.

"Sure, you are," Cassian encouraged. "I'll just stay behind and you attend the meeting, then fly back to where you left me." The droid shook his head, unwilling to process what Cassian asked him to do.

Jyn looked from the droid to the pilot, wondering which of them would win the argument. Would Cassian give in and travel to Yavin 4, and almost certainly his death, or would he stay strong and make the droid go on by himself? Jyn started thinking of all the places they could land and breakaway from K2. There were planets that were tropical with white sand beaches. There were also planets that were massive forests—the entire planet was one, gigantic forest. Jyn wondered which would be easier to live on?

"K2, I am not going to Yavin 4. At every turn, there's a new sign that tells me it's a bad idea. Jyn and I are sharing dreams that have told us the fate of Scarif. I can only assume that going to Yavin 4 will somehow make those dreams happen." Cassian explained. Jyn suddenly got very somber.

"What if that was our fate?" She finally asked. "Go to Yavin 4, go to Scarif, get blown up. It sounds like the fate of a rebel pilot and a prison monger, if you ask me." Jyn said.

"It's a preventable fate." Cassian corrected her. "That fate will only happen if we let it happen. I'm not going to let it happen. I'm not going to Yavin 4." He reiterated. K2S0 sighed in frustration. The droid was programmed for completing missions and following through with detailed and rigorous plans. Not doing that made him cranky.

"Fine then, should I program the navigation for the nearest planet?" K2 asked, defeated.

"No. I will handle it. You can power down for a while if you'd like." Cassian said. On that note, K2 stood up, his tall frame imposing on the small cockpit full of people. He maneuvered around the humans and left the cockpit without a word.

"He's mad." Baze pointed out.

"He's a droid. He'll get over it." Cassian remarked. He took K2's seat and began programming a new flight pattern. "There are seven planets nearby, according to the Nav System. Let's pick one." Cassian brought a description of each planet up for the others to look at.

"Let's look for one that has no association with the war." Baze suggested.

"One that has a warm weather, but not a desert." Jyn added.

The group kept listing off what they wanted in a planet until finally, there was only one planet left on the Nav System's screen. It was a small blue and green planet. Cassian pointed to it.

"Callisto." He read from the screen. "A neutral planet in the system C43-S7. It's atmosphere is breathable to all species. Its temperatures range from 24 degrees Celsius, to 1 degree Celsius, most days." Everyone seemed to like the idea of the planet, so Cassian sent the coordinates to the navigation controls.

"Recalculating." The cool voice spoke again. The ship shook as it abruptly changed its course. "You will reach your destination in 3 days, 6 hours and 22 minutes, standard time." The voice read out.

Jyn cheered silently, shocked and happy that she convinced Cassian of the dangers of returning to Yavin 4. She basked in her victory, having convinced him without giving him anymore detail than she had to. Her secret was still safe, tucked into the back of her mind, for only her to see. Sometimes she thought that Chirrut knew what she had done, and why she couldn't go to Yavin 4, but if he did, the blind monk never let her know.


	5. Chapter 5

The ship landed on Callisto in a rain storm. Cassian was reminded of Eadu and shuddered at the memory. As they gathered their belongings, he wondered if Jyn was recalling the incident on Eadu as well. He took his last bag and moved it to the exit ramp of his ship. Jyn had one small bag she was taking with her, but he noticed that Baze and Chirrut hadn't gathered any of their belongings. Perhaps the warrior and the monk had no belongings to bring to the new planet.

Cassian walked back to the cockpit, mentally preparing himself to say goodbye to K2S0. Since they had chosen their destination, Cassian had been toying with the idea of resigning from the Rebellion. Finally, a few hours before landing on Callisto, he drafted a shakily written letter of resignation. He knew the Princess would be furious with him, but he could no longer call himself a member of the rebellion. He was a deserter.

"K2," Cassian said, joining the droid in the cockpit, "I have something for you to deliver to the Princess on my behalf." He sat down in the empty pilot's seat. He felt the cool leather of the chair caress his shoulders.

"I don't want to." The droid whined.

"I know you're going to miss me, but we're doing what's best." Cassian explained.

"I do not agree." K2 argued. "Returning to Yavin 4 should have no connection to dying on Scarif. I think you're being silly. We are expected to return to Yavin 4. We follow orders, not our hearts."

 _We follow orders, not our hearts._ The words of the droid echoed through Cassian's head as he sat back in the pilot's chair. It never occurred to him that that was what he was doing. He made the decision to keep himself alive, but maybe there was more to it than that. He thought of Jyn, the emotionally scarred, lone wolf.

"Your judgement has been clouded by a girl." K2 said, "You're making decisions that improve your chances of getting Jyn to like you." The droid spoke as if he had analyzed Cassian.

"That's not true." Cassian tried to argue. "I don't want to die."

"You never cared about dying before." K2 pointed out. Cassian silently cursed the droid. He loved K2S0 like a brother, and like a brother, the droid had an uncanny ability to point out exactly what Cassian didn't want to hear.

"Things have changed, K2. I have a reason to live, now. Before, I was just a rebel, fighting, with the rest of the rebels, until there was nothing left." Cassian started.

"And now?" K2 baited him.

"Now, I have a reason to live. I have a purpose. I have to protect her." Cassian ranted. His eyes grew wide as soon as he said it. Jyn was his purpose. The realization hit him like a freight train. He had to protect her, he had to live because Jyn had to live.

"Go to Yavin 4. Deliver my letter to the Princess. Return here if you want, but you don't have to. I am staying here, on Callisto, with Jyn, and Baze and Chirrut. I will not die fighting anymore, I have chosen to live." Cassian stood up and left the cockpit. He walked toward the exit ramp, and heard the rain pounding down on the metal casing. Outside the ship, he could see Jyn standing under the wings of the ship, playing with the Keiper crystal that hung from her neck. He opened the exit and walked out into the sheer rain and strong wind. Jyn looked up at him, a trace of concern passed across her face.

"Tell me, I'm not being stupid." Cassian demanded. He centered himself in front of Jyn.

"Sorry?" She blinked at him a few times.

"For abandoning the rebellion. Tell me I'm not stupid." Cassian demanded. Jyn tried to take a step back from him. It was the first time that he had ever acted imposing. Jyn tilted her head.

"You're not stupid. You're not abandoning the rebellion, you're making a decision that will keep you alive."

"I wrote a letter of resignation." Cassian said. "I quit."

"Why did you quit?" Jyn asked. It was a logical question. Asking people why they did something, she learned, help that person think through what they did.

"I found a reason to live. The entire time I was in the rebellion, I was reckless. I took risks that no one else would, because I didn't care if I lived or died. I do now." Cassian explained. There was a softness in his voice that Jyn never heard before. The softness made her nervous. She wished she could take another step backward away from him. She didn't have to ask him what his reason was. She could feel the tension growing between them. Cassian reached out and put his hand against her cheek. His hands were warm, despite the bitter rain. Jyn felt her heart palpitate. An electric shock jumped between them.

A vision bloomed in her mind, of the two of them. Cassian flinched, but didn't take his hand away. It was a vision that they were sharing. They were standing together, on a new beach. Cassian had his arm wrapped tightly around Jyn, and Jyn had her head nuzzled into his collar bone. They were watching the sun set together, on the new, safe beach.


	6. Chapter 6

Finally, Cassian pulled his hand away from Jyn. She stared at him for what seemed like a long time after that. Cassian muttered something in his native language then turned away from her. He seemed suddenly angry, at her, at something, she couldn't tell which.

"What!" She called after him. He turned around, halfway between Jyn and the entrance of his ship. Sheets of rain separated them, soaking him through his jacket. Jyn took the whole picture in. His dark hair was plastered across his forehead. His jacket was heavy with rain.

"I can't do this!" He called back. A gust of wind lost the rest of his words, if he had anything left to say.

"Do what?" Jyn asked. "You can't stay on Callisto? You can't resign from the Rebellion? What can't you do?" Jyn felt the energy change between the two of them as Cassian rushed toward her, stopping just a foot away from her. She didn't expect that.

"I can't do this!" He repeated himself, this time he added a wild hand gesture between him and her. "Whatever this is, whatever that vision was, I can't do it." He gritted his teeth in frustration. "We were never supposed to be meet, Jyn Erso, and now that we have, my destiny isn't mine to control anymore." He tried to take a step back away from Jyn but an invisible force was pushing him toward her.

"You don't control destiny, Cassian. Destiny controls you." Jyn said. She didn't know what came over her. She reached out and touched his cheek, in the same manner that he touched her. There was no electric shock this time, but the same vision came back to them. They were standing on a beach, it was a perfect picture of a happy couple at sunset. No lives were taken, no lives were lost that day. They were both happy. Jyn took a deep breath and pulled her hand away from Cassian.

"That is our destiny." She whispered. Cassian shook his head, but she countered him. "Scarif was just a dream. We will never have to go there, now. You made sure of that. I'll never tell the plans of the Death Star to whoever is in charge. You'll never follow me to Scarif to defeat the Empire. We'll just live, like normal people, for a while."

Cassian's expression softened. He realized that dying in battle wasn't his destiny, abandoning the rebellion wasn't his destiny. Jyn was his destiny. If they were together, they would be fine. He looked at Jyn, his eyes were almost crazy, but soft. He could have kissed her then, but the cold rain bit at him, shaking the feeling. Instead he reached out and grabbed her hand.

"Let's go in and warm up." He said. Jyn let him pull her along to the ship, but her mind was somewhere else. The yelling match, and the heartfelt explanation of their destiny, hung in the air, an unfinished conversation, as Cassian just decided to end the discussion.

He closed the ship's ramp behind them, then leaned against the wall, as if he was exhausted. Maybe he was. Jyn understood that having a conversation like that could take a lot out of people. She was experiencing the headache and racing heart that usually went with an adrenaline rush, but there was no adrenaline-inducing action.

"Are you okay?" She asked. She watched his chest heave, struggling to catch his breath. Then, in an instant, he had her pinned against the wall opposite of where he started. His hands pushed into her shoulders, gently but strong. She could smell his breath, it wasn't an unpleasant smell, and feel it's warm flood over her face. His hair was dripping down the bridge of his nose and then dripping onto her chest, he was standing so close to her. All her inhibitions fell away in that moment, and she reached up, pulling him to her. Their lips met, at first in a gentle gesture, that morphed into needy. Neither of them could breathe. Cassian's chest burned with the effort. Finally, he pulled away, forcing himself away from Jyn.

"Sorry," He said, gruffly. A million thoughts were racing around in his head, but the only one that stuck out was Jyn.

"Sorry," Jyn laughed. Her stomach flip-flopped. Sorry was not the feeling she was experiencing. There was a part of her that wanted nothing more than to pull him back to her. "We should go dry off before we catch cold." Jyn added, side stepping away from him. She pushed herself away from the wall and walked the rest of the into the ship. The tension between them had been broken, and she walked with a lightness that hadn't been there before. Cassian observed her for a few seconds before following her into the living quarters of the ship.

"Destiny," He laughed to himself, as he watched Jyn disappear into one of the bedrooms.


	7. Chapter 7

When the rain storm finally passed on Callisto, Cassian and Jyn moved their belongings from his ship to the terminal and prepared K2S0 for his return trip to Yavin 4. Despite Cassian's wishes, Baze and Chirrut decided to go with K2, leaving Cassian and Jyn alone on the new planet, waiting for their return.

Things were different between them, Cassian wanted to say that it was a good different, but he wasn't sure what it really was. Kissing Jyn was supposed to give him answers, but he was still just as confused as he was before. He still wondered if resigning from the Rebellion was the right thing to do. Jyn told him that he was not in control of his destiny, he was bothered by that. He hated not being in charge of something. He was used to taking orders, but always made his own decisions.

"What are you thinking about?" Jyn asked, joining him in the cockpit, one last time before sending K2 off on his own. Cassian shrugged. He was worried about a lot of things. First and foremost, would someone come after him after they realized that he resigned? He wondered if they were safe from the dreams that showed them their fate? The question that was burning at his mind, however, was about Destiny. If destiny controlled him, was this new path his destiny, or was he just prolonging the inevitable? He'd never tell Jyn any of that though, because she thought that staying on Callisto was their destiny. Fate would decide what would happen to them, but being together was their destiny. She was so sure of that.

"Just making sure that everything is okay for K2 to take off." Cassian spoke carefully, trying to hide his worry behind the logistics scan that had already been run twice before Jyn joined him.

"You're wondering if you made the right decision." Jyn said, softly. She put one of her hands on his shoulder, in a comforting gesture. Since they kissed, Jyn had begun approaching him differently. Her speech was softer and more guarded. She was worried about upsetting him, or picking a fight with him. In Cassian's experience, Jyn had never once cared about what others thought of her, and he had to wonder if the show she was putting on was not her way of telling him that she wanted the same things that he did? He put his hand over hers on his shoulder. It was comforting to have someone to share, the emotions that he couldn't put into words, with.

"I'll always wonder if I made the right decision." Cassian admitted. "I'm turning my back on the only thing I've ever known. It's a big step." Jyn nodded, whether she actually understood, or was just empathetic to Cassian's feelings, it didn't matter. Cassian appreciated her patience with his see-saw method of decision making.

"I'm going against my father's wishes." Jyn said quietly. "He wanted me to go to Yavin 4 and tell someone about the weak spot in the Death Star. Instead I'm hiding out on a planet, hoping that destiny is kinder to me than it was to him." It was the first time she had said anything close to that out loud. She felt guilty for not following through with her father's request. Cassian wondered if she'd ever be able to forgive herself for not following through for her father.

"I guess we've both disappointed some very important people." He stood up and moved away from the control panel of the ship. "Everything's programmed for K2. I guess it's time to go." There was a sadness in his voice. "I've been with this ship and K2, for ten or eleven years. I have spent every day of my life since I joined the rebellion, living out of this ship. It will be so odd to sleep at night in a bedroom that wasn't originally a storage closet." He laughed.

"I have been wondering, how did you get such a small ship to have so much space?" Jyn asked. On Cassian's ship, there were three bedrooms, a sizeable kitchen, a bathroom fit for the princess herself, and the cockpit, but on the outside, the ship was just as small as normal transports.

"It's magic from the old world." Cassian explained. He put his arm around Jyn as they walked out of the cockpit together. It was a natural gesture, one that felt like he had done it a hundred times, instead of the first time.


	8. Chapter 8

Cassian woke, covered in sweat, unable to catch his breath. It was another dream. He fought to pull himself away from the depths of his imagination and focus on the good things in his life. He thought of Jyn, curled up in her own bed, on the other side of the apartment. She was a good thing in his life—probably the best thing in his life, because she made him feel human.

The dream, though, played at the corners of his mind, daring him to recall the most gruesome details of it. He wondered if Jyn shared this dream with him, like she did so many others, but then assumed that the dream would have woken her as well. Carefully, he got out of bed, stepping around his discarded boots and making his way to the shared living space. On the other side of the living space, Jyn's bed stood, half hidden in shadows, but very clearly unoccupied. He looked past the huge sliding door that led to a balcony overlooking the Callisto Sea and saw Jyn standing outside, illuminated by the light from the moon.

How was Cassian so lucky as to not only know Jyn, but consider himself very close to the woman? Her beauty stunned him, from the moment they met, and now, there were times when she would take his breath away. Despite everything she went through, her beauty was undeniable, and hard to ignore. He wondered what would happen, in a few years' time, if he let the one kiss they shared, hang between them, unrequited. Surely, she would find someone, eventually, and settle down into the life of marriage and family. Callisto would give her the chance to live a normal life, away from the rebellion, and the empire, and Cassian played with the idea of sharing that type of life.

Tenatively, he joined her on the balcony. She was standing statue still, looking up at the moon. She was breathing slow and easy. Cassian didn't take her as one to meditate, but he had caught her a few times, thinking about her father, and this reminded him of those times.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked. He half expected her to jump, not expecting him, but instead, she turned around to face him. She looked sad, the moonlight cast shadows across her face that made her look years older than she was.

"I was thinking about right after my father died. On Eadu. We were arguing and you said that you have been in this fight since you were six years old." Jyn said. Cassian's breath caught in his throat. He did not want to talk about that. He never talked about that!

"I was angry. I said things I shouldn't have." He said, softly, moving closer to her.

"I didn't realize…" She started. Cassian held up a hand and cut her off.

"It's not important." Cassian said. "When you've done what I've done, for a cause that you're no longer a part of, it puts your past into perspective. I was a bully, to get what I thought the rebellion wanted." He admitted.

They both turned their attention to the moon, forgetting the conversation. The moon on Callisto was an icy blue color. Some speculated that it was made completely of ice. Others believed that, at its core, a Keiper crystal kept the moon aglow. Jyn didn't know for sure what story to believe, but the moon was big, and bright.

"Sometimes the brightness of the moon makes it hard to sleep." Cassian mused. He leaned over the railing of the balcony, as if reaching for the moon. "Sometimes I just want to block it out, and make nighttime as dark as possible." He laughed.

"It's not a problem, if you don't look up." Jyn said. "That dream," She started, "the one that woke you up, do you remember what it was about?" Cassian shook his head. Small details of the dream were beginning to fade away. The entire dream itself would soon be lost in his imagination. He smiled to himself, as he thought of K2S0 giving him a statistical analysis of how long that would take to happen. Although he would never admit it, he was beginning to miss his droid.

"I don't remember anymore." He admitted, sadly. It must not have been a dream that they shared. "


	9. Chapter 9

Cassian had never woken up so distraught in his life. Another dream, this one he was sure was a bad omen, plagued his subconscious. He couldn't get rid of the terrifying feeling that something was going to happen. The rebellion knew that Jyn had information that could defeat the empire, and they wanted that information. The Princess and Mon Mothma would do anything to get that information from Jyn. Cassian was afraid that that would include the horrific details of his dream.

He got up and paced around his bedroom, wondering if this was a dream that Jyn shared with him. Sometimes they didn't share dream, sometimes they did. Some of the dreams had deeper meaning, expressing their inner fears and worries, others that they shared had no purpose at all. After a minute of pacing his bedroom, he left and went to the balcony. Often, he'd find himself standing on the balcony, staring at the moon on nights when he couldn't sleep. Sometimes Jyn would join him, most of the time though, she understood that he needed time by himself. On this night, he went to the balcony to find that Jyn was already standing there, staring up at the moon.

"Did you have the same dream I did?" He asked. He was no longer worried about scaring her, they were used to each other by now. They could sense each other before they came close enough to touch.

"I did." She admitted. Her voice was hoarse. She was as scared as he was. He put his arm around her and she instantly nuzzled her head into his collar bone. It was a familiar and comfortable position. "They're coming for me." She said, darkly. He knew exactly who she was talking about. As much as he wanted to disagree, it was hard to. They were coming for her, eventually. Maybe not that day, maybe not the next, but eventually Mon Mothma would know of the information that Jyn kept hidden and demand that she share it.

"What are we going to do?" He asked. He watched a bird fly in front of the balcony, and out toward the sea. For the first time, he was envious of a bird. That bird could go anywhere it wanted, without consequence.

"If we run from them, we'll be running for the rest of our lives." Jyn said. "The rest of our lives, Cassian. We'd never be able to have a life, outside of wondering when we'd be caught."

"If we let them come for you, then we might end up on Scarif." He reminded her. Avoiding Scarif was the point, after all.

"Either way, I think I'm going to wind up dead." She said. She was recalling the end of the dream. It was the hardest part of the dream for Cassian to think about. In the dream, Jyn lay motionless on a cold, metal floor. A blaster wound scorched her chest, her eyes were lifeless. Cassian shook his head, trying to scatter the details of the dream from his memory.

"What do we do, then?" He asked.

He already knew the answer. Before Mon Mothma could send some ill-trained goon to collect them, they would go to her. Maybe Jyn could explain her fear and Mothma would be understanding. Mothma was an empathetic person, she would understand Jyn's concern. She might not understand Cassian's choice to leave the Rebellion, though, and that could present a problem for Cassian.

"We'll leave in the morning. We'll be on Yavin 4 by the end of the week." He said. "And that's as far as I'm going." He added, defiantly. Jyn nodded against his shoulder.

Jyn still did not want to go to Yavin 4. The very idea of leaving Callisto, leaving the little paradise that she and Cassian had created for themselves terrified her. She began mentally preparing herself for what she was going to say to the Princess and Mon Mothma. She hadn't bothered to ask, but she knew that both women were powerful leaders of the Rebellion. Disappointing them, or upsetting them in any way would lead to Jyn's death—she was sure of it.

"I'm going back to bed." Cassian said. He kissed Jyn on the forehead, without thinking about it, and then instantly recoiled. It was the first time they had really touched since their first kiss. He left Jyn on the balcony without saying another word, leaving her to think about Mon Mothma, the dream, and now the impromptu kiss on the forehead.

It wasn't long after he returned to his bedroom that the door squeaked open, letting a stream of light filter in through the crack. He was half-asleep, but still able to pull himself onto one elbow and peer at the shadowy figure standing in the doorway.

"Cassian, I don't want to be alone right now." Jyn's voice whispered through the darkness. He didn't want to be alone either. He moved the blanket around, and repositioned himself to make room for Jyn on the small bed.

"Come here," he whispered. His voice was a mix of affection and concern. Maybe they would both sleep better, lying next to each other. She crawled into the bed with him, and put her head on his chest. He looked down at Jyn, realizing how vulnerable she must feel. He soothed her until they were both sound asleep, unsure of what the next few days would hold for them.


	10. Chapter 10

Cassian swallowed hard as he walked toward the council room. Mon Mothma knew that he was back on Yavin 4, and she was not happy with him. She knew that Jyn had important information that would give the Rebellion an advantage in the war.

"Things might get ugly," He warned Jyn. "I doubt that she'll actually kill us. Mon Mothma is not the killing type. She does get angry though. Very angry." Cassian shook his head, as if trying to shake away a painful memory. Jyn grabbed his hand and squeezed tightly. Together, they decided that they would go to Yavin 4 and face Mon Mothma. Jyn was convinced that either way she would die, but at least, dying like this would be dying with honor.

"We are here to tell them what we know. I know more about the Death Star than the stupid men who helped build it. We can destroy the Empire, and then go do whatever we want to do. We just have to be adamant that we not get sent to Scarif." Jyn said. "Going to Scarif will get us killed."

"We won't go to Scarif. We'll tell them of the plans, and the send someone else. We might not even have to go to Scarif, at all. Maybe no one will." Cassian said. They were standing outside the council room now. There were at least twelve people who were waiting for Cassian. No one knew that Jyn was with him, not even Mon Mothma. They entered the council room and stood before Mon Mothma and powerful council members like Bail Organa.

Cassian stood beside Jyn, strong and silent as she explained to every council member what her father's hologram message told her. There were details that she shared with the council that she hadn't shared with him. Those details were selling points, pieces of information used to make the people before her believe what she was saying. Mon Mothma listened, intently, judging Jyn as she spoke. Jyn was trustworthy, strong, she could be obedient when she needed to be. Mon Mothma. When Jyn was done speaking, Mon Mothma rose from her seat and looked down at the girl standing before her. Mothma knew Galen, but only as a traitor of the Rebellion. He worked for the Empire. That was more than Mothma needed to know about Jyn Erso's father.

"I will not send my people to Scarif to retrieve a data file that was created by a man who devoted his life to helping the Empire. Prove to me that you are speaking the truth. Go to Scarif and retrieve the file yourself." Mon Mothma declared.

"I…I can't." Jyn stumbled over her words. She wasn't sure what to expect Mon Mothma to say, but she never considered "no" to be one of the options. "I have told you all I have to tell you, to keep my conscience clear. What you do with that information, is up to you." She said. Jyn watched Mon Mothma's expression turn from one of contempt to annoyance.

"You are dismissed Jyn Erso." She said. "Cassian Andor, your resignation was accepted weeks ago. Please accompany Ms. Erso off Yavin 4. I beg that you do not return to my base." Mon Mothma commanded. Cassian nodded once in understanding, then, placing his hand on the small of Jyn's back steered her out of the council room. They walked the corridor toward the exit where K2S0 was waiting for them at the doors of the base.

"K, hello old friend." Cassian greeted the droid.

"You are in trouble, aren't you," K2 said. Cassian smiled, nodding sheepishly.

"We were, basically banished." Cassian shrugged. "But, now Mon Mothma knows of the plans that Galen left, and Jyn and I can rest easy knowing that our consciences are clear and free of guilt."

"Will you return to Callisto?" K2 asked. Cassian shrugged again.

"I will come with you." K2 declared. Cassian and Jyn both nodded in agreement. They would need a droid to travel with, wherever they went.

"Where do you want to go?" Cassian asked Jyn. "We can't stay here, and now we can go wherever we want."

"Anywhere but here." Jyn laughed.

Cassian put his arm around her as they walked out of the Rebel Base on Yavin 4. Clear of guilt, and knowing that Mon Mothma had information that could turn the war to the Rebels favor, they left the very planet that they desperately wanted to avoid. It was the end of Cassian Andor and Jyn Erso. They were free from the Rebellion, and free from the Empire.


End file.
